Volvo Group

a. The 2009 income statement shows research and development (R&D) expenses of SEK 13,193 (millions of Swedish Krona). What types of costs are likely included in these amounts?

b. Volvo Group follows IAS 38 - Intangible Assets, to account for its research and development expenditures (see IAS 38 excerpts at the end of this case). As such, the company capitalizes certain R&D costs and expenses others. What factors does Volvo Group consider as it decides which R&D costs to capitalize and which to expense?

c. The R&D costs that Volvo Group capitalizes each period (labeled Product and software development costs) are amortized in subsequent periods, similar to other capital assets such as property and equipment. Notes to Volvo’s financial statements disclose that capitalized products and software development costs are amortized over 3-8 years. What factors would the company consider in determining the amortization period for particular costs?

d. Under U.S. GAAP, companies must expense all R&D costs. In your opinion, which accounting principle (IFRS or U.S. GAAP) provides financial statements that better reflect the costs and benefits of periodic R&D spending? Process: e. Refer to footnote 14 where Volvo reports an intangible asset for “Product and software development.” Assume that the product and software development costs reported in footnote 14 are the only R&D costs that Volvo capitalizes. i. What is the amount of the capitalized product and software development costs, net of accumulated amortization at the end of fiscal 2009? Which line item on Volvo Group’s balance sheet reports this intangible asset? ii. Create a T-account for the intangible asset “Product and software development,” net of accumulated amortization. Enter the opening and closing…...

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...Though the importance of group work for individual well-being, organisational performance and collective learning has been a central feature of the Job Design literature for many years, its actual influence on work and organisational design in Western companies has been relatively small. One of the few exceptions to this has been Volvo, the Swedish motor vehicle manufacturer, which has been seen as a leader in innovations in work organisation since the 1970s. Indeed, it is probably not an exaggeration to say that in the 1970s, when it began moving away from traditional methods of car assembly, Volvo was more famous for its commitment to work humanisation than for the actual vehicles it manufactured (Blackler and Brown, 1978).
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...Converting data into business value at Volvo
Case Study 1
By
Michael Miller
To
Dr. Darlene Ringhand
CIS 500: Information Systems and Decision Making
Strayer University
Prince George’s MD Campus
The cloud infrastructure that Volvo included into its networks was a very good idea. They applied this idea to all the aspects in their cars. The idea of including this technology in their product I’m sure customers today would love and depend on the technology. Volvo product has hundreds of sensors that generate data that is utilized not only by the car itself but also by the cloud back to the manufacturer. Volvo has systems that data is collected from a multitude of different things. The cloud that Volvo uses has the ability to share information about any particular vehicle and any problem that they may be having and stop issues before the vehicle fails to operate.
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...Case Study 2.2: The Failed Merger between Renault and Volvo
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...vending machine, magazines, and the local newspaper. It is the material purchased or consumed by the buyer, or the items provided by the customer. And village volvo maintains a continuing file on each vehicle it services. This history can help the mechanic to diagnose problems and also provides a convenient record if a vehicle is returned for warranty service on an earlier repair. It is volvo’s information. It is available from the customer or provider to enable efficient and customized service. And all small worn out parts that have been replaced are put in a clean box inside the car. It is the explicit services. Customers can observe by the sense. Finally it is implicit services. Customers have worry free after get repair.
2) How are the distinctive characteristics of a service firm illustrated by Village Volvo?
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3) How could Village Volvo manage its back office like a factory?
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...Volvo - Sunwind Volvo is a Swedish multinational which manufactures cars and trucks. Sunwind is one of its suppliers, which supplies door panels for the station wagon models of Volvo’s 240 and 740 series of cars to Volvo’s Torslanda plant in Sweden. Sunwind is a company of some 200 employees, and its product range consists of different interior fittings for the automobile and aeroplane industries. Sunwind has been one of Volvo’s main suppliers since the start. At Sunwind’s Save plant, some 100 Km from Torslanda, the production rate is 2,000 door panels per week for the 740 series and 1,000 for the 240 series. The assembly of panels is done in two assembly lines, one for each model. The panels are produced in eight different variants per line (two different covering materials in four colours). The role of Sunwind was like a subcontractor, as Volvo developed the prototypes and supplied the tools and raw materials to Sunwind. The completed doors with fittings were delivered to Volvo in different containers, each part in its own container. The product being bulky and colour-dependent, a large storage space, both adjacent to the assembly line at Volvo as well as in Sunwind’s own operations, was required. Volvo bought and collected the goods from the Save factory twice a week. Volvo anticipated that the market demand would increase by twice the current production and instructed Sunwind to plan for meeting the demands. Sundwind is now facing the task of planning for anticipated......

...1. Suppliers– low bargaining power
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2. Buyers - high bargaining power
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...expand its business into high-end market of luxury vehicles through building up Volvo into a successful luxury brand. However, although the market position of Volvo is clear and both Geely and Volvo are full of confidence, the prospective seems very tough.
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...Geely.
Targeting the lower end of premium auto segment, historically, Volvo has focused on sustaining competitive advantage in safety through constant innovation. Over the last 82 years, the strategy has earned Volvo a strong brand equity and global recognition of its reliance and adherence to high safety standards. However, in 2000s it struggled with profitability due to increasing competition, changing customer preferences, and ineffective cost management and, finally, the recession.
Discuss Geely’s strategy and competitive positioning in the auto industry prior to acquiring Volvo.
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Why did Geely acquire Volvo? What are some of the merger integration challenges Geely faces, and how should they be addressed?
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...2
1.
Village Volvo`s service package would include:
Supporting facility: Butler Building with four work bays, an office and waiting area
Facilitating goods: Replacement auto parts
Information: CCVD, test drives, diagnostics, vehicle problem discussion
Explicit services: Smooth – running automobile after performed services
Implicit services: Worry –free auto repair, safety.
2.
Village Volvo provides comfortable atmosphere for its customers (well equipped waiting room), complimentary additional services such as vacuuming which increase value of services received. They have also split their services between routine maintenance and general repairs in order to meet the time requirements of their customers. They will only bill what they estimate without the customer’s prior approval and they return all worn parts so the customer knows the services were performed.
3.
Village Volvo currently operates in a business to consumer (B2C) environment where the customer is considered and is active in the entire service process. If Village Volvo was to run its repair operations more like a factory (which I don’t suggest), the consumer would just fill out a form as to what was wrong with the vehicle and Village Volvo would fix the problem and deliver the repaired car. Under this format they would be able to actually work on cars for a greater part of the day as they would no longer need to spend time interacting with the customer. Village Volvo would also be......

...Case 2, Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car)
According to the case study of the Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car), the design elements are most valuable to female consumers, which are the smart storage solutions, for drivers that using back seat more often for groceries, gym bags, and laptop computers than for passenger, YCC’s back seat designed like a movie theater seats that fold upright until needed for passenger, freeing room on the back floor for loading and unloading. By moving the gear lever and handbrake, the center console has shallow compartment keys, mobile phones, and so forth, with a sliding back compartment capable of storing a purse out of sight. There is also a space for notebook computer, a “cool box”, and a wastepaper basket.
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...By splitting its target group by car range speciﬁc email
communications, Volvo is consistently achieving extremely high response rates. In addition, the awareness of
customers and prospects of the existence of Volvo’s newsletter is exceptional with up to 8 out of 10 recipients actually reading the newsletter on a regular basis.
For almost 80 years, Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has
committed itself to reach the highest security and safety standards which are then packaged into high quality,
attractive Scandinavian design. Many new and exciting
car models shape the face of the Volvo brand this year
so it’s hardly surprising that Volvo is also pursuing new,
innovative and successful ways of communication.
Ë Efficiently Complementing Existing
Marketing Tools with Email
With the use of email marketing, Volvo are complementing its existing marketing mix, not only alongside traditional dialogue marketing campaigns but also
to amplify its other online marketing methods – with
the key objective being to measurably increase the response rates of all advertising tools. According to Oliver Engling, Head of Advertising and CRM at Volvo Cars
(Germany) it’s clear that Volvo customers and prospects
gather information and research online and therefore
the most natural means of communication is via email.
“This is why a continuous communication with our customers is vital for us and we place a high value on close......

...submit our term-paper on “Volvo - an overview”. In developing the report we have followed the format and instructions given by you.
In every sphere of our report, we have tried our level best to make a good combination of learning from the Integrated Marketing Communication Course. We also tried to match our theoretical knowledge and the direct experience gathered during the preparation of our term-paper. In this report, we have tried to be as descriptive as possible for the convenience for the reader.
Any clarification required & query needed regarding our report will be gratefully acknowledged.
Yours obediently
Mudassar Mahmood Khan Md. Matiul Islam Md. Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan Md. Ehsanul Haque
ID No. 41018003 ID No: 40609063 ID No: 40610059 ID No: 41018044
18th Batch 9th Batch 10th Batch 18th Batch
EMBA EMBA EMBA EMBA
Dept. of Marketing Dept. of Marketing Dept. of Marketing Dept. of Marketing
University of Dhaka University of Dhaka University of Dhaka University of Dhaka
Executive Summary:
Volvo Car Corporation, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo was originally......